A training course is one of the forms that Professional Development Activities can take, and Professional Development Activities are transnational or international learning mobility activities supporting the professional development of youth workers. Training courses support the development of competences to implement quality youth work practices or address and test innovative methods. In a training course in a Mobility project for Youth Workers, participants must be minimum 16 years old and must be resident in the country of their sending or receiving organisation. The duration of a training course is from 2 to 60 days, excluding travel days, and the minimum 2 days must be consecutive. In Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception. Our guide on the role of youth workers describes the work itself, and mobility of youth workers and job shadowing covers the wider Action that a training course sits inside.
Last updated: October 2026.
Who can join an Erasmus+ training course?
In a training course in a Mobility project for Youth Workers, participants must be minimum 16 years old and must be resident in the country of their sending or receiving organisation. A sending organisation is a participating organisation sending one or more participants to an activity of an Erasmus+ project. A receiving organisation is a participating organisation receiving participants and organising activities of an Erasmus+ project. At the start date of the activity, participants must have reached the minimum age of 16. If projects involve young people under the age of 18, participating organisations are required to obtain the prior authorisation for participation from their parents or those acting on their behalf.
SALTO stands for 'Support for Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities'. Many training courses, seminars and study visits published on the SALTO European Training Calendar are Training and Cooperation Activities (TCAs): activities organised by National Agencies to cooperate across Europe and share good practice. In the Training and Cooperation Activities, participants must be at least 18; priority goes to young people active in organisations and to youth workers, and after the activity they are expected to share what they learned and prepare new projects. Being active in a youth organisation is important but not required; young people who understand how these projects work and cooperate with local organisations have a clear advantage.
Young people from third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) can apply to the Erasmus+ youth projects, but there are fewer places and more competition, because projects give priority to participants from EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. Young people from countries that are not EU Member States, third countries associated to the Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) cannot take part in the Erasmus+ youth projects (Youth Exchanges, Mobility projects for youth workers, Youth participation activities); for them, Erasmus+ higher education mobility, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges (Region 9 only) and Erasmus Mundus are open. Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps goes through the conditions case by case, Erasmus+ and ESC age limits explains how age is counted, which countries can take part shows where you can apply from, and opportunities for young people outside the European Union explains what is open to you if your country is not on the list.
How do you join a training course?
For Youth Exchanges, Volunteering Teams, training courses, seminars and study visits, young people apply to the call itself; the call may ask you to apply directly, or it may name a sending organisation in your country through which you have to apply, so you must read the details of each call. Erasmus+ youth projects have no standard application format; each call explains how to apply. There is no limit on the number of applications: you can apply to every project that suits you. There is a lot of competition but few good applications; most applications are rejected at the first screening because the applicant did not read the details of the call.
Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards, and saved projects stay on your profile page. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required. SALTO training courses, seminars and study visits are pulled into Youth Works Hub automatically several times a day and appear in the Erasmus+ projects category. Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC takes the steps one by one, and how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where open calls for youth workers are published.
What kinds of professional development activities does Erasmus+ fund?
🎓 Training courses: courses supporting the development of competences to implement quality youth work practices or address and test innovative methods. Our guide on what non formal education is explains the learning approach behind these courses.
👀 Study visits and assignments: study visits and different types of assignments, such as job shadowing, youth worker exchanges and peer learning, in youth work organisations and organisations active in the youth field abroad. Our guide on mobility of youth workers and job shadowing covers the Action as a whole, and what an Erasmus+ study visit is describes this format.
🗣️ Seminars and workshops: seminars and workshops supporting in particular knowledge building and best practices sharing. Our guide on what an Erasmus+ seminar is explains how a seminar differs from a course.
🤝 Networking and community building: networking and community building among youth workers taking part in the action and supporting its objectives.
⛔ Activities that are not eligible: academic study trips, activities that aim to make financial profit, activities that can be considered as tourism, festivals, holiday travel, performance tours and statutory meetings are not eligible for grants under Mobility projects for Youth Workers.
How long is a training course and where can it take place?
The duration of a training course is from 2 to 60 days, excluding travel days, and the minimum 2 days must be consecutive. Youth worker activities and study visits usually last from 4-5 days up to 10-12 days. Activities must take place in the country of one of the organisations participating in the activity, or in the countries of several of them in case of itinerant activities. Exception: activities cannot take place in Belarus or Russia.
What does Erasmus+ cover for you on a training course?
🏠 Accommodation and food: in Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception. In Erasmus+ youth projects, participants usually stay in hotels. The aim is to provide basic living conditions, so do not expect luxury.
✈️ Travel: contribution to the travel costs of participants, including trainers, accompanying persons and facilitators, from their place of origin to the venue of the activity and return. Below 500 km, participants will, as a general rule, travel with low emissions means of transport, and over 500 KM, participants are strongly encouraged to use a combination of different modes of transport to make their travel more sustainable. In Erasmus+ projects, participants usually buy their own return ticket first and the organisation reimburses them afterwards; for participants with limited financial means, organisations can also support them, so this should be agreed with the sending and receiving organisations before buying. If the ticket costs more than the travel distance band amount, the participant pays the difference; if it costs less, the remaining amount stays with the organisation. When travel costs are reimbursed differs from project to project; it should be written in the info pack, and if it is not, you must clarify it with the organisation before the project. Our guide on how travel distance bands work shows how the amount is calculated, and green travel in Erasmus+ and ESC explains the sustainable transport top up.
🧩 Inclusion support: additional costs directly linked to participants with fewer opportunities and their accompanying persons, trainers and facilitators. Our guide on inclusion support explains how this extra funding helps youth workers who face barriers join a training course.
🛂 Visa and visa related costs: visa and visa related costs, residence permits, vaccinations and medical certifications are eligible. Our guide on visa and residence permits for ESC and Erasmus+ walks through the paperwork, and what Erasmus+ covers sets out the country rates behind each category.
Do you have to pay to take part in a training course?
No fee is ever asked for applying, in ESC or Erasmus+ youth projects; nobody should pay anything at the application stage. In Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, training courses, seminars and study visits, about one in ten calls asks participants for a participation fee; Youth Works Hub does not support this practice. The participation fee is not a payment made in advance: it is usually deducted from the travel reimbursement. A participation fee is usually a contribution the organisation asks for its own institutional capacity, not a cost of the programme. A participation fee is never paid at application, only by selected participants, and in many cases it can be negotiated or even waived by the organisation.
The amount of the participants' contribution must be very low. It must be clearly justified by a direct benefit to the participant, its purpose must be well explained and justified to the participants, it must be collected on a non-profit basis, and it may not create unfair barriers to participation. Contributions cannot be collected from participants with fewer opportunities. Additional fees or other participant contributions cannot be collected by other service providers chosen by the organisation. If an organisation asks you to pay at the application stage, report it to the National Agency or the European Commission and let us know, so we can report it too. Our guide on how much money you actually need for Erasmus+ or ESC adds up what is left to you, and the hidden costs of a fully funded project counts the rest.
Do you need insurance for an Erasmus+ training course?
Young people and staff involved in mobility activities of the Erasmus+ Programme must be insured against the risks linked to their participation in these activities. The Programme leaves it up to project organisers to seek the most suitable insurance policy. Furthermore, it is not necessary to subscribe to a project-specific insurance if the participants are already covered by existing insurance policies of the project organisers. In either case, the following areas must be covered: wherever relevant, travel insurance (including damage or loss of luggage), third party liability (including, wherever appropriate, professional indemnity or insurance for responsibility), accident and serious illness (including permanent or temporary incapacity), death (including repatriation in case of projects carried out abroad).
If applicable, it is strongly recommended that participants in transnational activities have a European Health Insurance Card. The European Health Insurance Card is a free card that gives access to medically necessary, state provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country. Our guide on visa and residence permits for ESC and Erasmus+ covers the paperwork step by step, and preparing before you go lists what to sort out ahead of departure.
What do you get at the end of a training course?
Youthpass is not a diploma or a professional qualification and does not bring a job on its own, but it is recognised in practice by employers and universities; its value is that it makes your learning structured and easy to explain. A Mobility project for Youth Workers needs to envisage support for the reflection process, identification and documentation of learning outcomes, in particular through Youthpass. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate itself, how to put Youthpass on your CV and LinkedIn shows how to use it, and what comes after your project covers the weeks that follow.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to be active in a youth organisation to join a training course?
Being active in a youth organisation is important but not required. Priority goes to young people active in organisations and to youth workers in the training courses published on the SALTO European Training Calendar. In a training course in a Mobility project for Youth Workers, participants must be minimum 16 years old.
How young do you have to be to join a training course?
Participants must be minimum 16 years old in a training course in a Mobility project for Youth Workers. In the Training and Cooperation Activities published on the SALTO European Training Calendar, participants must be at least 18. At the start date of the activity, participants must have reached the minimum age of 16 in a training course in a Mobility project for Youth Workers. Our guide on Erasmus+ and ESC age limits lists the limit for each activity.
Do you pay to take part in a training course?
No: no fee is ever asked for applying; nobody should pay anything at the application stage. The participation fee asked from selected participants in about one in ten calls is not a payment made in advance: it is usually deducted from the travel reimbursement. Our guide on how much money you actually need for Erasmus+ or ESC adds up what is left to you.
How long does a training course last?
The duration of a training course is from 2 to 60 days, excluding travel days, and the minimum 2 days must be consecutive. Youth worker activities and study visits usually last from 4-5 days up to 10-12 days.
Where do you go from here?
Reading the rules is the short part, and finding a course that fits your own work with young people is the longer one. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is sets the programme in context, and how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where calls appear. The related pages below from Youth Works Hub cover each part of this guide in more detail.
Related pages: what Erasmus+ is · mobility of youth workers and job shadowing · what an Erasmus+ seminar is · what Erasmus+ covers · how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
